Spike makeover show goes to work on The Royal Oaks

August 3, 2015 at 10:23p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

A film production crew is camped out this week at The Royal Oaks filming an episode of Spike’s “Bar Rescue.”

The crew began moving in equipment Sunday and began filming Monday at the East Side bar at 924 Oak St.

As is always the case when a TV show is being shot, the director, cast and others involved are contractually obligated to remain tight-lipped, so details are hard to come by.

But the documentary-reality show will be at the Oaks for most of the week, said a member of the production crew at the bar Monday afternoon.

The show, starring bar and nightlife management expert Jon Taffer, visits struggling bars and gives them a physical makeover and also identifies and reverses poor business practices.

The Royal Oaks will be closed to the public most of the week for filming.

Believed to be the city’s oldest continuously operated bar, the Oaks — as it’s known — is a funky and eclectic place with a mix of regulars that ranges from rockers to hipsters and professionals to neighborhood residents.